In a tribute, Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr said the two met as schoolboys in 1975. “We were best friends and went everywhere together,” Marr wrote on Instagram. They played together in bands in South Manchester during their teenage years, before the Smiths gained acclaim, “and it was on those Smiths records that Andy rediscovered himself as a bass guitar player.”
Hailing from Manchester, England, Rourke helped develop a sound as part of one of the most popular English bands of the 1980s, The Smiths, which produced hits including “There’s a Light That Never Goes Out” and “How Soon Is It.” Now? “.
At the time, The Washington Post described it as one of the best English bands of the decade.
After the band broke up in 1987, Rourke played and recorded with artists including the Pretenders and Badly Drawn Boy. In his decades-long career, he also was created Freebass is a supergroup consisting of bass players from Stone Roses and Joy Division.
“I always got an instrument for Christmas or my birthday, so I used plastic trumpets, saxophone, keyboard,” Rourke said. In a 2016 interview. “I played a bit of cello later, but I did it because it was needed on the Smiths record, so I bought one, tuned it like a bass and went from there.”
Fans and fellow musicians paid tribute to him early Friday morning.
Suite bassist Matt Osman said Rourke will be remembered as “a total turn – a rare bassist whose sound you can instantly recognize.”
Rourke last played on stage with Marr and his band at Madison Square Garden last year, the guitarist said, adding that it was a matter of “personal pride and sadness.” He described it as a “special moment” shared with the bassist’s family and “his wife and soulmate Francesca”.
“It was a matter of personal pride and sadness that Andy played the last stage with me and my band at Madison Square Garden in September 2022,” said Marr. He said it was “a special moment shared with my family and his wife and soulmate, Francesca.”
Another former bandmate, The Smiths drummer Mike Joyce, added that Rourke was “the sweetest, funniest guy I’ve ever met.”
“Andy has left the building, but his musical legacy lives on,” he wrote.
